No Contract Agreement Yet Between Wnba, Players' Union

The WNBA and its players association are still at an impasse after the two sides failed to reach a collective-bargaining agreement in a three-hour negotiating session Monday in New York.

"We moved on some issues, but we still have some things that need to be ironed out," said Pam Wheeler, the union's new director of operations. "I don't think we'll be happy with the negotiations until we get a deal done."

The WNBA's third season is scheduled to begin June 10. The league's pre-draft camp in Chicago begins Thursday, which means a deal probably needs to be in place by Wednesday to avoid a lockout. Pray said the league has yet to decide if it will hold the camp without a labor agreement.

The two main sticking points are minimum salaries and the number of players from the now-defunct American Basketball League that would be allowed to join the 12-team league. The players' union is asking for minimum salaries of $45,000; the league has offered $20,000.

"It's not like we're asking for a million dollars," said former Marshall High School and DePaul star Kim Williams, now with the expansion Minnesota Lynx. "The players have done a lot for the league and we feel like we should be compensated for that."

As for the number of ABL players allowed into the WNBA, the league wants four per team with six for expansion teams in Orlando and Minnesota. The union wants to limit the number to two per team.

"The best players have to play," said Sue Wicks of the New York Liberty. "There is no ABL now so there's no need to label a player. If somebody is better and takes my job, that's sports."